Member News

Scott De Laruelle, who has worked for Unified Newspaper Group as a reporter and opinion editor since 2013, has been promoted to managing editor. De Laruelle succeeds Tara Jones.

The news group also announced the hiring of reporter Maddie Bergstrom, who earned bachelor’s degrees in journalism and psychology from UW-Madison in December 2022. She will cover government and community news for The Verona Press.

Ross Pattermann, of Hayward, has joined the Thorp Courier as a news, sports and feature writer. An Orlando native, Pattermann began his journalism career writing for his high school newspaper and, later, for The Daily Cardinal while attending UW-Madison, where he earned his bachelor's degree in history.

Prior to joining the Courier, he worked as a sports reports for the Sawyer County Gazette and TP Printing Co., which publishes the (Abbotsford) Tribune Phonograph, The (Edgar) Record Review and the (Loyal) Tribune Record Gleaner.

Longtime Southern Lakes Newspapers editor-in-chief Ed Nadolski has retired after 23 years with the company, the news group reports. His last day was Jan. 27. During his tenure, Nadolski oversaw news content in Racine, Kenosha, Walworth and Waukesha counties.

He is succeeded by Tracy Ouellette, who has worked for the company since 2006. Most recently, she served as community and special sections editor.

Longtime sales manager Jade Lewandowski has been named director of sales for the Minnesota-Wisconsin O'Rourke Media Group, the company has announced. Lewandowski, who earned her bachelor's degree in communications and business administration from Illinois State University, has spent the last 19 years working as a sales executive and manager. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree.

In addition to Lewandowski, O’Rourke has hired Jacob Langer, of Ellsworth, as an account executive.

Rachel Brands has joined the staff at Beloit Daily News as a general assignment reporter, the newspaper reports. In her new role, Brands will cover education, features and general news.

A native of Lake in the Hills, Ill., Brands graduated in 2019 from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, with a double major in creative writing and English literature. Before joining the Daily News, she worked as a freelance writer.

Tony Ends, who has served as editor of The (Brodhead) Independent-Register since May, is stepping aside from the role, he announced in a column welcoming new editor Robin Orvino.

It's the fifth time that Ends, who works full-time as a writer and editor for the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, has served as editor of the newspaper since 2015. He wrote that he hopes to continue writing for The Independent-Register on an occasional basis, he wrote.

Taima Kern, who has worked for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin for more than 11 years, has been named editor of The Post-Crescent. Kern succeeds Larry Gallup, who served as editor of The Post-Crescent since 2021 and now works as an audience growth editor for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.

Kern joined the network in 2011 as assistant editor for the Action Publications in Fond du Lac County. She became site editor of the Fond du Lac Reporter and the network's nine nondaily publications in 2016. She's a 2011 graduate of Ripon College.

Peter Frank, who has worked at the Green Bay Press-Gazette for the last 23 years, has been named editor of the newspaper. Frank, who most recently oversaw coverage of breaking and trending news in Green Bay and other sites in the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, will also lead a regional team focused on government, public safety and courts.

Frank succeeds Mark Treinen, who served as news director since March 2019 and recently was named editor of The (Madison) Capital Times.

Meggan Meisegeier, who recently graduated from UW-Superior with a bachelor’s degree in writing, has been named assistant editor of The Ladysmith News.

In her new role, she will cover local law enforcement and court news, dispatch reports, board meetings, Bruce and Flambeau School news, and various festivals and events.

After a 15-year journalism career, Lake Geneva Regional News editor Stephanie Jones is leaving the field to become a teacher, she announced in a column Wednesday.

A 2007 graduate from UW-Milwaukee, Jones interned at the Green Bay Press-Gazette before joining The (Racine) Journal Times as a reporter. She was named managing editor of the Times in 2016 and became editor of its sister paper, the Regional News, in 2020. She also served as a member of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board's first reader advisory committee.